Duel in the Dunes: Severus Severino vs Kenpachi Zaraki
"I'm back." thought a tall Arrancar man who was shifting through the endless desert sands. Severus Severino...the lone Arrancar. Years had passed since he last visited Hueco Mundo. Personally, he hated the place, but hey, home was home, right? Above all else, he was bored. He hadn't fought in ages. He loved to fight. It was one of his hobbies, but there wasn't a shred of action in the Human world. Unless you call scraping the gum off of Mr. Getsueikirite's shoes action. And he didn't. Night-time. The full moon shone over the lands, the skies having been turned to a darkened black. Surprisingly, despite the usual activity, it was practically desolate, with little to no activity going on. The place was odd in that sense - filled with Hollow activity during the day, and then silent and empty the next. Most likely, all Hollow were either asleep, or somewhere else in the region. There was another oddity: there was lightning that flashed through the sky, but no rain ever came down. It was just another negative variant of the Living Realm's weather. That's all Hueco Mundo seemed to be... ...at least, so far. Kenpachi Zaraki was out practicing once more, captain haori billowing in the winds as he did so. Once again, he was out in Hueco Mundo practicing his kendo skills - he couldn't afford to get rusty, even after his dismissal from the Gotei 13. After all, fighting was just another hobby for him. He always sought out stronger opponents everyday, in the hopes of entertaining himself and honing his already powerful skills even more. He was an example of a good swordsman. He refused to allow his sword to become useless. A large group of Hollow were dissolving as the scene shifted back to Severus. They were nothing to him. How could he improve his skills if all he fought were Hollows weaker than the Gillian-class. He decided on a new from of action; he would raise his reiatsu to such levels that no strong opponent could ignore it's presence. With that, he began to build up large amounts of reiatsu causing the winds to kick up and roar through the lightning-filled sky of the Hollow world. It was a virtual sandstorm that decimated the land and sand near him. "Come now strong opponent." Severus thought to himself. "Don't keep me waiting." "Eh?" That's when Kenpachi stopped his strikes, his revealing eye widening in slight surprise. As low as his senses were, he could obviously feel the reiatsu within the region. He could pick up the roars of the wind, Mother Nature itself having seemingly been completely angered by the display of force. Balancing the back of his blade onto his shoulder, he allowed his trademark grin to cross his face. "Well... someone answered my prayers..." He said to himself rather jokingly. "Time to go see who summoned me." Upon that malicious statement, a particularly powerful flash of lightning raced through the sky, illuminating everything white for a moment... ...then Kenpachi's figure was gone, off to the source. They Clash! Kenpachi vs Severus Severus sensed the oncoming reiatsu and sighed, "Looks like the plan worked. Whoever's coming has a large amount of reiatsu and...it feels like a Shinigami's! I guess I'll get to have some fun after all!" he declared, getting excited. He then picked up his large Zanpakutō and slung it over his shoulder, awaiting his foe. That was when Kenpachi re-appeared. Almost in a comical manner, their poses seemed quite similar. Though, Kenpachi's larger figure prevented them from being "twins". His hair had changed quite dramatically, long and over his shoulders instead of spiky. That was very much the only difference that had went on in the years time. "...Yo." He muttered in a gruff tone. "You were calling someone?" He began to step forward, until they were the standard fight distance apart from each other. It was only natural, after all. "Yeah," Severus replied, sizing up his rather large foe. "Of course I called. What're you deaf? I wanna fight someone strong. I have no reason for this, so don't ask me. I wanna fight...simply to fight." He then moved his enormous sword off of his shoulder and into a defensive stance. "You feel strong." he continued, "And you heard the cry of my heart; to fight. So then, you're my opponent." Kenpachi was eager to hear such statements come from him. He leveled his blade tip straight for the man. Another spark of lightning emphasized the foreshadowing of the powers clashing. "You fight just to fight? That's fine by me! But, since you called me, how's about you make the first strike?" A grin curled onto Severus' face, "No need to ask. I was already planning on it...!" he declared. He then dashed at Kenpachi and swung his immense blade down on him with great force. Kenpachi pulled away his sword.... and Severus's blade collided with his shoulder. However, that was when the first frightening trait of Kenpachi appeared. "Was that it...?" Kenpachi frowned disdainfully, reaching up to grasp the large blade off of his body. "Coming up to challenge me... and attempting to cut me with this dull blade? What a joke..." Upon closer inspection, despite the force that Severus had swung down with.... it didn't do a thing. He was unmarked, untouched. But Kenpachi wasn't one to let the man get his bearings. Gripping the blade, he pulled Severus towards him, thrusting his sword straight for the chest. Severus allowed the sword to collide with his chest, "Same to you..." he replied. His own toughened skin allowed him to take a jab like that without any damage whatsoever. "I must admit, I didn't expect some non-Arrancar to block my sword with their bare skin, but.." He lifted Kenpachi's sword up with his hand and tossed it back to the large man, "...don't get your hopes up!" he declared, freeing his sword and bring it back. His next swing was far more powerful than the rest, causing an explosion of sand, though whether or not it had hit it's mark hadn't been seen, as the dust hadn't yet cleared. This time, Kenpachi allowed his blade to raise up, colliding with Severus's larger blade. It was like fighting Nnoitra all over again... immediately, his frown turned into a grin. "Looks like I've found a good opponent, then..." He stated. "This is gonna be one hell of a warm-up!" With that, he allowed himself to shove Severus's weapon away from him, raise his own blade upwards, and begin his own onslaught. Only, it wasn't that of one strike - it was one of many fluid motions. His arm movements were powerful, and a single swing was enough to create a small crater within the ground. He was going to have to find a way through that Hierro... or this would be quite boring. Severus used the wide blade of his zanpakutō to block the onslaught and even managed to parry a few times himself. Even after all these years, it surprised him how well he could maneuver his giant sword so well. He then leaped back a few steps and grabbed his blade by the looping chain the trailed behind it, and began using it as a flail. Attacking with astonishing speed and precision, swinging his blade around in such a way kicked up a large amount of sand. Kenpachi leaped! And the massive blade collided where he once had been. Like a bird upon prey, he pounced upon Severus, his cutting edge bleaming as it was swung down upon the man's head. However, he was sure that the man would counter him. Such a victory would be disappointing! They both wanted to enjoy this fight, after all! Severus indeed blocked the attack, "That's it! Put your back into it!" he shouted happily. He continued to use his sword as a flail, swinging it, this time, from Kenpachi's left at great speed. At the same time, he opened his mouth and charged a green Cero, firing it once done at Kenpachi. Once the former Captain blocked the strike, he leaped back. As the Cero charged, he turned an eye towards the weapon that was coming straight for him. Switching his sword to his other hand, he blocked and deflected the oncoming scythe weapon, then raised his newly freed hand in a signal to stop. The Cero came rushing towards him, colliding with the outstretched palm. With a grunt, he tossed it aside after holding it for a moment, all the meanwhile landing on his feet. "You're pretty strong for a Shinigami." Severus noted, a grin still painted upon his face. He then reeled his sword in, and grabbed it by the handle. "I'll make you show me every ounce of that power!" he yelled, launching forward once more, only this time, he vanished and reappeared behind Kenpachi; aiming a large swing for his head. Kenpachi immediately raised his own sword in order to fit between the crack of Severus's scythe, not even having go turn around. As they struggled against each other for dominance, electricity began to form where the sparks were connected. The power the Arrancar was displaying sent a chill down his spine, but not out of fear. It was actually his growing excitement. "How about you let me have a bit more fun?" He asked calmly - well, about as calm as an 11th Division captain can get while in the midst of combat. "With pleasure!" Severus replied, leaping back to put distance between the two. "Alright. Enough being a beserker. I need to think this through strategically. That's how I have my fun anyways. I'll start with something small and then reveal my techniques one by one." he thought. He then balled his fist and fired dozens of bala at the former captain. Immediately, Kenpachi raised his sword in the air and swung down with a mighty force. Once the Bala came close enough, their naturally weak energy was dispelled by the wake of his strike. His physical strength was enough to blow brief waves of sand as tall as he was into two parts before they sunk back into the ground. However, his next move was sudden - he lunged at Severus, his body glowing with a circular aura of his terrifying reiatsu.